Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-02-17
A RIGHTEOUS VETO.
The President Disapproves the De-
pendent Pension Bill.

WASHINGTON, Feb. II.-President
/ Cieveland's message vetOing the de
/ pendent soldiers bill contains about
1900 words. 1t treats the subject ex.
haustively and gives a summary of the
| pension legislation since the organiZa.
ton of the country. One of his main
objections to the bill is its vagueness
In confirmation of his opinion as to the
uncertainty of its provisions and the
diff1culty to construe positively, he
says:
The chairman of the committee OIL
Pensions in the House of Representa-
tives, who reported the bill, has de-
clared that there was in it no provision
for pensioning any one who has less
disability than total disability to labor
and that it was charity measure.
The chairman of the committee on
Pensions in the Senate, having charge
Of the bill in that body, dissented from
the construction of the bill announced
in the House of Representatives and de-
clared that it not only embraced all
soldiers totally disabled, but in his judg-
ment all who are disabled to any con-
siderable extent, and such construction
was substantially given to the bill by
another distinguished Senator who, as
a former Secretary of the Interior, had
imposed upon him the duty of execut-
ing pension laws and determining their
intent and meaning.
The President also criticises the bill
on account of its failure to provide for
the grading of pensions according to
the degree of disability, and says: II
there is lack in any degree, great or
small, of ability to earn such support
as the government determines the
claimant should have, and by the an.
plicatiOn of the rule secondly suggest
ed if there is reduction in any degree
of the support which he might earn il
sound, he is entitled to a pension OF
$12.
He alludes to the difficulty of carry
ing out the provisions of the bill with
out doing injustice, in the following
words:
If in an effort to carry out the pro-
posed law the degree of disability, as
related to earnings, be considered for
the purpose of discovering if in any
way it curtails the support which the
applicant, If entirely sound, would
earn, and to which he is entitled, we
enter broad field, long occupied by the
pension bureau and we recognize as
the only difference between the pro-
posed legislation and the previous laws
passed for the benefit of surviving SOL
diers of the civil war, the fact in one
case of disabilities in military service,
and in the other of disabilities existing,
but in no way connected with or result
ing from such service. -..
Another weak point in the bill is
pointed out as follows by the Presi-
dent: .....- -,
In the execution of this proposed
law, under any Interpretation, wide
field of inquiry would be opened for
the establishment of facts largely with
in the knowledge of claimants alone,
and there can be no doubt that the race
after pensions offered by this bill would
not only stimulate a weakness and
pretended incapacity for labor, but put
further premium on dishonesty and
mendacity.
Reference is also made to the fact
that $75, 100000 has been appropriated
for the payment of pensions during the
current year and to the fact that $500.
600, 600 has been paid for this purpose
since 1861.